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The 1927 roof replacement by Calvin special Souvenir Office at Fort Myer, VA, to made gavels as a hobby in his Georgetown home
Coolidge was a lot more restricted as far satisfy the public demand. A list of thirteen workshop. This particular gavel was made from
as removing pieces for souvenirs. The “Memento Kits” was mailed out to all who sent the early mahogany wood that was used to trim
prime contractor, the N. P. Severin Co., in a request. For a very nominal fee plus postage, the windows in the famous East Room.
had to agree in their contract to not allow 29,835 Kits were mailed out by the end of the
debris to be removed from the grounds. 10-month program in 1951. Each “Kit” had
To satisfy the public demand, a year later a small bronze plaque added to authenticate
an auction was held for some of the the piece.
removed timber. The National Lumber Examples of souvenirs and relics from the
Manufacturers Association was the high White House can take one of two forms. The
bidder for much of the leftover lumber. first is an original, unfinished, rough piece that
Harry Truman’s 1948-1952 massive was removed right out of the White House.
renovation prompted tens of thousands of The second is a rough piece that has been
citizens to write to their Congressmen to transformed into a usable souvenir. Canes,
request a piece of the White House as a gavels, candlesticks, and bookends are just some
souvenir. The Commission on the of the types of souvenirs that original owners
Renovation of the Executive Mansion, created with their little pieces of history.
after much debate, agreed to set up a
Kit #1: Just Right to Make a Gavel
One of the most popular kits was “Kit #1 –
enough old pine to make a gavel.” A total of
5,059 were sent out to collectors at $2 apiece.
Many fraternal organizations, lodges, and clubs
were recipients of gavels made with White
House wood. The actual location where the
wood came from in the White House was
generally unknown with some exceptions. Rep.
J. Caleb Boggs obtained some wood from a joist This wonderful shadowbox was made using original
in the Lincoln Room and presented it to Judge White House material contained in “Kit #5”
It was mailed to a resident of Leetsdale, PA,
Percy Green of Delaware. Green then made a and was presumably made by him. The original
gavel which he then presented to the Lincoln mailing label is still attached to the back.
Club of Wilmington in 1952. Dixon, IL,
Circuit Judge George C. Dixon also used a gavel
made from Lincoln Room wood provided to Rev. Howard D. Bare, affectionately known
him by White House building inspector Bert as Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s “Whittling
Smyce, a fellow Dixie man. Preacher” made a particularly unique piece with
This unusual gavel was made by White House One of the more interesting gavels was made his gavel kit. In 1951, using the wood for the
Architect, Lorenzo S. Winslow around 1950. by White House Architect Lorenzo S. Winslow. handle, he carved likenesses of Pres. Abe Lincoln
He used the mahogany from an East Room He had access to any wood that he desired and and Pres. James Buchanan, which he mounted
window in the White House. on the gavel head block. Out of the hundreds of
small carvings he did in his lifetime, this master-
piece was one of his last. He passed away 2
months later.

From Artifacts to Souvenirs
Presidents and their staff realized the historic
value of the original material and had Christmas
gifts and other unique pieces made as special
presentations. These are some of the more
sought-after souvenirs by White House
collectors. Eleanor Roosevelt’s workshop at
Val-Kill produced some excellent pieces using
the timber removed in 1927. Truman’s
Renovation Commission contracted for small
Lucite paperweights, containing embedded
relics, to offer to members of Congress, VIPs,
and others connected to the renovation.
Original 1790s White House bricks, hand
molded by the brickmakers and enslaved workers
on the north grounds of the property are
popular souvenirs desired by collectors. Enough
bricks, about 160, to help build a fireplace were
sent out to 63 homeowners around the country,
from Miami, Florida to Waco, Texas, to Los
Angeles, California, to Flint, Michigan, and
cities in between. In addition, 4,520 individual
Lancaster, PA Pastor Howard D. Bare made this bricks were mailed out at $1 each to souvenir
very unusual carving using the material from Kit A souvenir wood paperweight made for White House hunters who wanted to own a tangible part of
#1 – “enough old pine to make a gavel,” sent by Secret Service Agent, Floyd Boring. Truman’s Inaugural history. A few of them even showed evidence of
the official Souvenir Office at Fort Myer, VA in medal is inset on the front. Agent Boring was charring from the burning of the President’s
1951. Bare was known as the whittling pastor in House by the British Army in 1814.
directly involved in saving President Truman from an
the Lancaster area. photo courtesy Lancaster History
assassination attempt at the Blair House in 1950.
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